Love and Sacrifice
by Marwn
Summary: A "what if" story set after the Ring's destruction. Sad. I won't say anything more :-)


Love and Sacrifice, by Marwën  
  
This takes place after the Ring's destruction. Be sure to check out the apology at the end :-)  
  
**********  
  
When Pippin opened his eyes, he wondered if he was dead and had gone to a better world, since the sun outside shined with all her might. But then he heard the voice of Merry calling to him: "O Pippin! You are awake at last!"  
  
Pippin turned his head and saw his friend beaming down at him.  
  
"Merry?..." he murmured. "Are you dead too?"  
  
"No, I'm not, and neither are you, my lad! It's over, Pippin," he added happily. "The war is over, and we won!"  
  
A smile crept up on Pippin's face. "Is that so?" He sat up and laughed. "Then I am quite happy to be alive, my dear Merry! But how are you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm fine, I've been waiting for you to come around for days, now. But come, there are some news."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"Gandalf went with Gwahir, the King of Eagles, to search out for Frodo and Sam. They have managed to destroy the Ring, Pippin! Let's go outside. He must be back by now."  
  
   
  
They went to the news in the clearing between the trees. They saw Gimli and Legolas sitting side by side, talking softly. Gimli turned and his face lit up when he saw Pippin.  
  
"So you are up at last, dear master Peregrin!" He stood up and kissed him on both cheeks. "You have given me quite a scare, the other day, when I found your feet underneath a pile of dead orcs. I could have torn my beard up!"  
  
The hobbits smiled, and Merry asked:  
  
"Is Gandalf back yet?"  
  
The smiles on Gimli and Legolas' faces disappeared. "He has come and gone," muttered the dwarf, staring at his feet. The hobbits looked at Legolas questioningly.  
  
"He was here about half an hour ago," said Legolas, "but he left almost immediately. He has brought back Frodo. He is in bad shape, but will survive."  
  
The joy of hearing that their cousin was out of danger was tempered by their anxiety for their other friend.  
  
"And Sam?" asked Pippin. "Has not Gandalf brought him too?"  
  
Gimli shook his head sadly. "All he said was: 'I am coming back', and then he left. I am dreadful, my friends."  
  
Merry and Pippin looked at each other worriedly.  
  
   
  
***  
  
 [A few hours earlier, on Mount Doom...]  
  
Suddenly Sam saw Gollum's long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm's edge.  
  
   
  
With a cry Samwise Gamgee leapt forward and pinned Gollum down. Was it love, revenge or sudden bravery that moved him? He hadn't stopped to think about it; he just did. Frodo watched the scene unfold, kneeling on the ground, clutching his wounded hand and panting hard. Gollum and Sam were rolling on the ground, fighting for the Ring in Gollum's clutched fist. He was shrieking, hissing: "My preciousss! It's ours! Ours!"  
  
With growing horror Frodo saw that they were dangerously approaching the Cracks of Doom.  
  
"Sam!" he cried.  
  
Sam turned his head. Gollum took advantage of the hobbit's momentary distraction and began strangling him with one hand, keeping the other out of reach. He spat on his face.  
  
"The nasssty hobbit! He's not going to have it, no my precious, he won'ts. We're going to eats him, yes my preciousss!"  
  
Frodo crawled forward but couldn't do anything; Sam and Gollum were hanging at the very edge of the Cracks. Sam's and Frodo's gazes met for a few seconds, during which Frodo thought having read the words "Forgive me" on Sam's lips. Then the hobbit made a sudden move with his feet, flinging Gollum over his head in one movement. Gollum wouldn't let go of Sam's cloak and so pulled him with him; the two of them went falling down into the Cracks of Doom, Gollum screaming one last time "Preciousss!", and Sam without a sound. The Ring was destroyed.  
  
   
  
The horror struck Frodo with the force of a thousand lightings. He stooped dangerously over the edge, screaming with all the air left in his breast: "Sam!... SAM!..." He suddenly had to back off as rumbling and heat and red light came out of the fissure, as the Ring returned to its fire. Frodo stumbled back, black despair in his heart. Fear moved his feet against his own will, and he ran down the stairs, weeping, until he tripped over an unseen rock and fell stumbling, and he remembered no more.  
  
  ***  
  
   
  
Merry and Pippin were sitting at Frodo's bedside, keeping watch over their sleeping cousin. It had been quite a few hours since Gandalf had brought Frodo and gone back to Mordor. Gimli suddenly opened the doors without warning, and said: "Come quick! He is back!"  
  
The two hobbits hurried out of the room in time to see the majestic eagle land near the house. Gandalf got off Gwaihir's back, alone. Pippin and Merry cried out, running to him. The wizard turned to them, and the tell- tale look on his face stopped them cold. He smiled at them sadly, put his hands on their heads, and he walked to the house, leaning on his staff, more resembling an old man now, bowed and weary, than ever before.  
  
"Has Frodo awaken yet?" he asked Legolas, who shook his head.  
  
"Good," he whispered, and went inside.  
  
Pippin ran after him, calling his name, but this time Gandalf did not turn. Gimli grabbed the hobbit by both shoulders, trying to prevent him from passing, but Pippin trashed and cried: "Let me go! Gandalf! Gandalf!" He freed himself only to fall into the arms of Merry who held him tight. They were both weeping now, and they collapsed to the ground, finding comfort in each other's arms.  
  
***  
  
Frodo woke up to light, birds and music, in a soft bed with warm sheets. Confused for a moment by all these forgotten sensations, he said aloud: "Where am I, and what time is it?"  
  
To his surprise, a deep, rusty but amiable voice answered:  
  
"In the land of Ithilien, and it is noon, of the fourteenth day of the New Year, if you wish to know."  
  
Frodo's eyes went wide and he cried:  
  
"Gandalf! But I thought... I thought you were dead!" Gandalf smiled and said nothing.  
  
Memory suddenly came back to Frodo of Mount Doom and Sam's ultimate sacrifice. His face fell and tears welled in his eyes. He whispered almost inaudibly: "Sam..."  
  
Sadness filled Gandalf's expression. He said gently:  
  
"When we found you, you were alone at the bottom of many stairs, unconscious. As soon as you were out of danger, we searched for Sam for hours, in and around Mount Doom, until the destruction made it impossible for us to find a still living being."  
  
Frodo closed his eyes as tears trickled down his face.  
  
"He saved us," he murmured. "I had failed, Gandalf, and he saved us all."  
  
"I know," the old wizard said softly. "You talked in your sleep, my dear hobbit."  
  
Frodo wept silently, heartbroken. Gandalf stroked his hair and put him back under the covers. "Rest now, Frodo," he said. "Hopefully, the next awakening will be happier."  
  
   
  
The next morning, Frodo woke more rested, but still heavy in his heart. He found clean clothes hanging on a chair, put them on and left his chamber to meet the music and the merry voices in the hall. Many happy faces turned to him; elves, men, even some dwarves. He smiled politely even though he felt like screaming.  
  
"They all think I saved them," Frodo thought. "But I failed them. Sam saved Middle-Earth. And he is dead, because of me". Frodo closed his eyes, overwhelmed by anguish. He longed to see friendly, simple, familiar faces.  
  
Suddenly two very familiar voices sprung from the other end of the room, calling out his name. Frodo turned and saw what appeared to be two young men running towards him, but as soon as he could see their faces he recognized his two overgrown but still young hobbit friends, Merry and Pippin.  
  
The three hobbits fell into each other's arms, laughing and weeping at the same time, as Pippin and Merry had already heard of Sam's demise. Frodo was sobbing, glad to have his friends with him at last, taking him in their arms and crying with him over their lost companion.  
  
   
  
The Quest was over at last. They were together again. Friendship saved Middle-Earth's fate, love won over darkness, corruption and hatred. It was how it should be.  
  
************************  
  
   
  
Ok, now to apologies and stuff :-)  
  
   
  
Before anyone kills me for killing Sam off, let me tell you that Tolkien himself had this plot in mind, before he changed it to the ending that we know (Gollum falling by himself in the Cracks of Doom), to our grand relief. I got that from the History of Middle-Earth, by Christopher Tolkien. I'm not quite sure which volume, but I think it's "Sauron Defeated". One of his plot lines was "Sam tackles Gollum down the Cracks of Doom". I think we're all glad he decided otherwise :-). So that's where I got this awful idea. Sorry, not my fault, but I couldn't get it out of my head until I had written it down!  
  
   
  
Other apologies: the timeline is somewhat warped, sorry about that. I didn't know what to do with it. And sorry if it turned out to be a "Everybody loves Sam" kind of fic, I couldn't help myself! LOL ...But I honestly don't think Merry and Pippin cared THAT much about Sam, I just like writing sappy stuff :-). Oh, and a last one: sorry for the crappy title :-)  
  
   
  
Now you can go and insult me, if you still want to! ;-)  
  
  


End file.
